Galera Receives Complete Response Letter from U.S. FDA for Avasopasem Manganese

The Company remains committed to its goal of bringing avasopasem to patients and intends to meet with FDA as soon as possible to discuss potential next steps

Galera will take actions to extend its cash runway and continue enrolling its rucosopasem clinical trials

Conference call tomorrow, August 10, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. ET

MALVERN, Pa., Aug. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a pipeline of novel, proprietary therapeutics that have the potential to transform radiotherapy in cancer, today announced that it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for avasopasem manganese (avasopasem) for radiotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis (SOM) in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing standard-of-care treatment.

In the CRL, the FDA communicated that the results from the Phase 3 ROMAN trial together with the supporting data from the GT-201 trial are not sufficiently persuasive to establish substantial evidence of avasopasem’s effectiveness and safety for reducing severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. FDA stated that results from an additional clinical trial will be required for resubmission.

The Company intends to request a Type A meeting with the FDA to understand the FDA’s rationale for its decision and discuss next steps to support an NDA resubmission seeking approval of avasopasem. The Company will also explore strategic alternatives, including partnering, for the continued development of avasopasem and rucosopasem.

“This response from the FDA is deeply disappointing for Galera and for patients who suffer from severe oral mucositis,” said Mel Sorensen, M.D., Galera’s President and CEO. “We continue to believe in avasopasem’s potential to bring a meaningful benefit to these patients, who currently have no FDA-approved drugs for this debilitating condition.”

Restructuring and Financial Update

“As we explore a potential approval path for avasopasem, we are taking decisive actions to extend our cash runway,” continued Dr. Sorensen. “Unfortunately, this necessitates reducing our workforce by approximately 70%. We are grateful for the many contributions our talented team has made over the years and their commitment to avasopasem.”